Chapter 2

Setting the tea kettle on the lighted stove, Emma pulled two mugs from the cabinet. After work that day, she'd come home to find a message on her machine from Elizabeth, saying that she'd be over after work with the kids. The phenomenon was expected. Ever since Elizabeth decided to move back, she also chose to cut her work day just a few hours shorter than her husband's. She'd claimed that it was so she could spend more time with the kids and get the house clean, but so far she'd chosen to spend her free time at her sister's house. And talking about their day over a hot cup of tea was just a tradition they'd carried on since their childhood.

Personally, Emma wouldn't mind the frequent visits. The house was big enough for three kids to run around in. True, she was only one person, but after living in an apartment with her ex-husband for so many years, she decided to upgrade. She'd felt so suffocated in the apartment, that even when her husband left, she felt she wouldn't be happy unless she had more room.

It was more than just that she had room in the house, though. Elizabeth's visits were often the highlight of her day. During her marriage, she grew apart from her own friends to fit in with her husband's. Now, she had no husband, and no friends. She was at the most lonely point in her life, and she didn't want to stay there. But she wasn't like her sister where she could just go anywhere and make dozens of friends. The idea of trying to create a new social life for herself absolutely terrified her.

Minutes later, the kettle whistled. As she turned off the stove she checked her watch.

Three…two…one…

Sure enough, there was a loud string of anxious knocks and doorbell rings. Emma chuckled to herself, imagining her sister telling Connor and Katie to stop it before their fingers fell off. "I'm coming!" she called, opening to the door to her sister and her kids.

There was a chorus of "Hi, Aunt Emma!" as the kids ran into living room. Connor and Chloe made a bee-line for the hallway, but Katie stopped at smiled at her aunt. "Can we play in the backyard?"

"Sure, kid, go ahead. Don't scream too loud though – I got complaints from the neighbors the last time you were here," Emma teased, chuckling when Katie instantly lost all composure and dashed after her siblings. Smiling, she began making tea for her sister first, then herself.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth stood at her side, staring at her with a curious eye. "Why are you in such a good mood? What happened at work today?"

"Nothing really," Emma said with a shrug, handing Elizabeth the steaming mug. "But your babysitter, Tess, I think her name was? She stopped in with Chloe. Then her and Monica invited me out to lunch, with Chloe of course. I don't know, it was just fun. They're both very nice."

Stirring her tea with a small spoon, Elizabeth sat down at the kitchen table. "Oh, that's nice…wait, who's Monica?"

"That's right, I didn't get a chance to tell you. Daphne hired a new assistant," Emma explained.

Elizabeth's eyes widened. "But aren't you her assistant?"

"See, I panicked at first too," Emma answered with a laugh. "But then Daphne assured me that she was just hiring Monica as an extra pair of hands while business was good. So, after some initial awkwardness, I showed Monica the ropes and we ended up getting along pretty well. She's a little talkative though, and you know how I like quiet when I work."

Taking the information in for a second, Elizabeth grinned at her sister. "So…when are you asking Monica to hang out?"

"What?" Emma asked.

"You've been looking for a social life," Elizabeth explained. "I say, if I were you, I'd drag Daphne and Monica out to a bar on Friday night, and there you go. Maybe pick up a few guys – kill two birds with one stone, you know?"

Emma glared at her. "You're talking to me like I'm some anti-social adolescent and you're my mother."

"Well stop acting like one and I'll return the favor," Elizabeth retorted.

"I don't know," Emma said. "They probably already have things to do. And no guys will hit on me if I still have my wedding ring on."

Letting out a deep sigh, Elizabeth replied, "I hate to point out the obvious, but you could remedy that latter problem in a second if you just…took the ring off."

Emma shook her head, her heart beating faster. There she goes again, Emma thought. No matter how much she argued, Elizabeth just didn't get that Emma had a problem with moving on from her marriage. Elizabeth didn't understand that while it was true that Emma no longer loved her ex-husband, she wasn't prepared to admit that she was now completely on her own. "Liz, stop it, okay? When I'm ready, I'll do it. I've told you that a hundred times."

"Okay, fine, I'll stop. Though I still think it's crazy that you say you're lonely, yet you won't do anything…" Elizabeth trailed off at her sister's angry look. "Right. Stopping now."

After a moment of awkward silence, Emma cleared her throat and asked, "So…how was it when you got home? Did everything work out with Tess?"

Her eyes lighting up, Elizabeth's tone was excited as she answered, "Fantastic! Not only did Chloe absolutely love her, but she cleaned most of the house, too. Dishes done, floors swept, shoes and jackets put away. There was even a casserole in the oven for dinner. I swear, she's an angel sent from above."

"From what you're telling me, I wouldn't be surprised," Emma chuckled. The tension vanished, she and Elizabeth continued to sip their tea while they told each other stories about their day.

The next day at work, Monica tried her best to talk with her assignment as much as possible. But there was still that awkward silence after every conversation. She learned fast that Emma didn't like to talk while she worked, which was something that worried Monica. After all, how would she complete the assignment if she couldn't speak with her?

Sometime during the day, Monica went into Daphne's office with the intention of dropping off some papers. "Here's that mailing list you wanted."

On the phone, Daphne nodded and signaled Monica to wait for a second. "Of course…alright, see you Friday," she said into the phone, then hung up and turned her full attention to the angel. "Thanks, Monica. I actually wondering if I could ask you something."

"Sure, go ahead," Monica replied, her curiosity piqued.

With a sheepish smile Daphne explained, "I'm having Chris' family birthday party on Friday night, and was wondering if you and your friends want to come. I thought it would be a long shot, but Chris has been talking about Gloria and since you're here anyway…"

"I'd love to come, and I'm sure Tess will too," Monica replied, smiling. Daphne really has come a long way, she thought, remembering a few months ago when there would've been no close family to invite to such a party. "But Gloria and Andrew are on their own assignment. I can see where they are and ask them, though."

Daphne frowned a little at the last part, but got over it and replied, "Well, it's great that at least you and Tess can make it. I know everyone would love to see you again."

"Just out of curiosity…who is 'everyone'?" Monica asked.

"Oh, you know most of them," Daphne assured her. "Jacob, his family and my parents. Adriana said she, her husband, and Fi would be able to make it too. Fi would be coming to the kid party the next day, but she's practically family by now anyway. Besides, I want some kids to be there or it won't be much fun for Chris."

Monica nodded, looking forward to the party more with each guest mentioned. It was always such a treat to see former assignments again. Then she remembered her current assignment and got an idea. "Daphne…were you thinking of inviting Emma? If she's been working for you this long, she must be familiar with your family."

Hesitating for a moment, Daphne replied, "Well, honestly, I was thinking about it. But I've tried to ask her to a party or two in the past and she's always turned me down."

"I think she'll say yes this time," Monica said, already forming a small plan. "You just wait a few minutes or so after I leave, alright?"

Daphne shrugged. "You're the miracle worker."

"Trust me on this one," Monica replied with a chuckle. A friendly smile on her face, she approached the desk she and Emma now shared. "So how are you doing with the latest pile of work?"

Barely looking up at Monica, Emma answered, "Okay. That long lunch break we took put me behind schedule."

"I'm sure between the two of us, we can get it all done before the end of the day," Monica said, taking a seat at the chair on the opposite side of the desk. "So…" she began, attempting to sound casual as she started to do work. "…what do you do on weekends?"

Her eyes still on her work, Emma answered, "Um, nothing much. Hang out with Liz for the most part."

"Don't you like to let loose on the weekends though? Have some fun with your friends? Manhattan is only a train ride away – it's easy for someone like yourself to go wild," Monica insisted.

Emma let out an impatient sigh as she replied in a short tone, "I haven't really socialized much since my divorce. When you go through something like that, it's hard to bounce back. It's been difficult to get to this point."

"But now that you're at 'this point,' what's stopping you?" Monica asked. She knew this constant pressure was making Emma uncomfortable, but she had to keep at it. If Monica didn't ask these questions, then Emma wouldn't stop to ask herself any of them…

Like she was now. Finally Emma stopped working for a brief second, staring at Monica with a mixture of anger and realization that the angel might be right. She never got to express either emotion, however, as Daphne chose that moment to walk out of her office.

"Hey, you two, I just wanted to ask you something…" she trailed off, sneaking a questioning glance at the angel. When Monica nodded, Daphne continued, "Would you like to come to my son's birthday party on Friday night? I'm having the kid party on Saturday, so it would just be family and friends of the family."

Monica glanced at Emma and saw that the woman was thinking it over and leaning towards "no, thank you." To help sway her answer, Monica quickly replied, "That sounds wonderful, Daphne. I'll be there."

"I g-guess if Monica's going…" Emma paused, not quite ready to give in yet. "Will Adriana be there?" To Monica, she explained, "Daphne introduced us a while ago, and I see her with Fi sometimes when I'm at the park."

Nodding, Daphne answered, "Yes, she and Fi are coming."

Emma considered for another long, agonizing moment, then finally let out another sigh. "Okay, sounds fun. Excuse me." Then she got up from the desk and headed for the bathroom, her cell phone in hand.

"She's probably going to call her sister," Daphne noted with a disapproving frown.

Giving her a reassuring smile, Monica said, "It's going to take some time – this is a step in the right direction. You did a good thing, Daphne." Trying put aside their anxiety over Emma, they both went back to work.

"No problem, Mrs. Scott. I'll keep you updated," Elizabeth said into the phone in her new office. She couldn't enjoy it, though. New patients were practically breaking down her door. Today marked her first meeting with depressed patient Evan Scott, and she was now talking to his closest relative – his cousin. "Evan is going through a rough spot, but with your support we can get him through. Talk to you on Thursday."

Elizabeth massaged her forehead once she hung up the phone, feeling a headache coming on. It was well past one in the afternoon, yet she hadn't even thought about taking a lunch break. She was about to go check to see if Mark was ready for lunch when there was a knock at the door. "Come in."

One of her new assistants, Gloria, poked her head in the room. "Hi, Elizabeth. How'd your meeting with Evan go?"

"Good, but we've got a lot of work to do," Elizabeth answered. Then she wrinkled her brow at Gloria's strange hesitance to come in. "You don't have to stand there. Come on in."

Gloria moved into the room, but didn't stray far from the door. "Actually, um, you know that specialist I recommended?"

"Yes," Elizabeth answered. After meeting with Evan this morning, Gloria had suggested they bring in a friend of hers who specialized those suffering from depression. Given her workload, Elizabeth figured an extra therapist couldn't hurt.

Finally Gloria stepped aside, pulling in a handsome young man. "This is Andrew."

"Hello, nice to meet you," Andrew said, shaking the hand she held out.

As she shook his hand, Elizabeth was grateful that Mark wasn't there. He definitely would've noticed her checking out her new employee. "Well, hello there. Are you married…I mean, managing to adjust to your new office?"

"It's very nice," Andrew answered with a chuckle. "And I'm not married."

"Oh, really?" Elizabeth nearly purred. In her mind, she was already picturing where she would send Andrew and her sister on their first date.

For some reason, Gloria could barely contain a giggle, while Andrew's face turned a deep shade of red. "Andrew's a little modest."

"It's true," Andrew agreed with a small shrug.

Elizabeth's smile widened. "Then you'd be perfect for my sister. She's a little shy, but she's great once you get to know her."

"Oh, n-no, I couldn't," Andrew protested.

"Well, why not?" Elizabeth argued, then frowned. "Oh, you're not gay, are you?"

"What? No! I-I mean, I don't have a problem with that, but I'm not…well, you know," Andrew stuttered.

By now, Gloria was almost doubled over with laughter. Through her giggles, she managed to explain, "Let's j-just say…that A-Andrew…is already otherwise committed."

"Okay then," Elizabeth replied, deciding that she didn't want to know what that meant. "So, anyway, I was just about to get Mark and go to lunch. You two want to come?" When they both accepted the invitation, she told them she'd be right back as she stepped into the hallway. Once she closed the door, she shook her head when Gloria's laughter could suddenly be heard once again.